Silo



F. A. BLOCKI March 10, 192 s.

SILO

Fild April- 36, 1925 ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 10, 1925.

UNITED STATES FRANZ A. BLOCKI', OF SHEBOYGAN, WISCONSIN.

SILO.

Application filed April 30, 1923. i Serial No. 635,528.

be erected by asingle workman without requiring the exercise of unusual strength.

In an'ordinary frame siloconstruction the uprights or posts of the silo are unitary and are-handled with difficulty by a single workman." In'fact;-it is frequently impossible. for a single man to construct a silo of the ordinary construction. This invention contemplates-the provision of uprights or posts whichare f abricatedby the workman as he proceeds with'the erection of the structure and it is'my object to provide a fabricated post which will have all of the strength of a solid p'ost and will also be adapted to co-operate with the sheathing to produce an unusually substantial structure. Inattaining this object, it is my desire to provide posts or uprights extending from bottom to top of-the silo. v

Further objects of this invention are to provide a silo, the uprights of which can be constructed from small pieces of material which might ordinarily be considered as waste; to provide asiloof a type utilizing pro-formed pieces which can readily be assembled by an inexperienced man; and to provide asilo in which the external sheathing is held together in a manner obviating the necessity for using hoops or bands.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a fragmental view in perspective of the wall of a partially erected silo constructed in accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section through a fragment 'of the wall shown in Figure 1.

Figure 8 is detail view in perspective of a silo post or upright fabricated in accordance withthis invention. It will be noted that the silo disclosed herein is aframe structure havinguprights or posts which are designated in their entirety 1 by the reference character 5 and are connected by inner sheathing fiand outer sheathing-,7. The whole structure is preferably erected upon a base or foundation 8 to which the uprights 5 are preferably secured by means hereinafter to be described.

Frame .si'los have ordinarily been constructed heretoforewith one piece uprights extending from bottom to topof thesilo. \Vhere such a silo is'of anyconsiderable size, the erection of. an upright of'sufiicient strength to'withstand the pressure of the silo contents requires great skill and a great expenditure of effort. It is ordinarily necessary for a number of men to assist in the erection of an integral upright member of the type referred to. p The present invention contemplates the use of fabricated uprights to which sections may -be addedas'the struc- 1 ture increases in height. It is thereby made possible for a concern engaged in the manufacture'of silos to standardize members intended for use in this manner sothat, re-c gardless of the heightof the silo which it is purposed to buildfthe structural elements entering into the building can all, be of equal dimensions. 1 To produce a structure of increased height, it is only necessary to us'ean additional number o-fthe; structural elements which enter into thefabrication of the uprights.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention, which is'herein disclosed, each upright or post 5 is madeup of a plurality of comparativelyshortblocks 9 and'lO which are assembled in staggered relation so that the abutting surfaces of each pairof blocks 10 will lie intermediate the ends of a block 9. Similarly, the abuttingends of eachpair of blocks-9 will lie intermediate the ends of a single block 10. The blocks 9 a'ndlO are similar and each is preferably so formed that its inner face 11 is shorter than its faces '12 of the severalblocks- 10. This angle will be determined by the number of sides which it is 'purp'osed to fornr in the silo. v i

The blocks 9 and 10 may be secured together in any desired manner, but for convenience in erection and for permanence, they are preferably bolted together as indicated in the accompanying drawings." Each blockmay be conveniently" provided with four bolt 'holesextending transversely therethrQughQ The bolts 1% will be passed through said holes in a manner such that each block will be secured by two of said bolts to each of two adjacent blocks.

Although the blocks 9 and 10 may be bolted directly together with mutually over lapping joints, 1 nevertheless prefer to 1nterpose between them a plain strip 15 which may conveniently be termed an abutting strip, since it projects at 16 and thereby provides a shoulder against which the boards comprising the inner sheathing 6 may abut.

It is immaterial to this invention whether the strip 15 is made up of sections breaking joints with blocks 9 and 10, or whether the strip 15 is continuous from top to bottom of the silo. At the right in Figure 1, an abutting strip 15 is shown to be horizontally divided at 17, the upper part of said strip having been superimposed on the lower part thereof during the fabrication of the upright. However, it is su'tiiciently light so that it will require the exercise of no considerable power in its erection if it is erected to full height in one piece.

In order to complete the post or upright 5 at its top and bottom, half blocks 9 and 10 are used in the manner best shown in Figure 8. Each of such blocks will be held in place by two of the said bolts 14.

A securing member 18 is held to each upright 5 by the lower two bolts 14.- thereof. If the foundation 8 be made of concrete, or the like, the extremity of the securing member 18 may be embedded therein. i if a wooden foundation be used. the member 18 may bend, as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 3, to provide a light angle bracket which may be bolted to the foundation. In either case, the same securing bolts 1 which secure blocks 9 and 10 together serve the added function of connecting to the upright 5 the member 18.

As has previously been indicated, the silo walls will preferably comprise the inner and outer sheathing (S and 7. The boards comprising the inner sheathing will, due to the shape of the silo, and to the interposition of the portions 16 of each strip 1- necessarily be shorter than those boards which make up the outer sheathing '7. The boards of the sheathing will be disposed with their ends abutting the strips 15 and will be nailed or otherwise secured to the inner surfaces 11 of the blocks 9 and 10. The boards which make up the outer sheathing '7 will preferably have their respective ends in mutually abutting contact, as indicated in Figure 1, and will be nailed, or otherwise secured, to the outer surface 12 of blocks 9 and 10. Inasmuch as the blocks are securely bolted together, the two sets of sheathing will be able to withstand considerable bursting strain without further securing means.

As an additional precaution, however, I

prefer to use the plates 20 which overlap the joints between the abutting ends of boards comprising the outer sheathing 7. These plates 20 are provided with suitable openings to receive nails, screws, or bolts which pass through such boards into the blocks 9 and 10 respectively. The use of the plates absolutely prevents any separation of the boards which comprise the outer sheathing and thereby makes the use of hoops or hands about the silo unnecessary.

The construction herein disclosed will recommend itself to those skilled in the art as being unusually easy of assembly and also unusually rigid when complete.

I claim:

1. A silo, including an upright structural member comprising a plurality of units secured together, an interposing strip between said units and having a portion extending beyond the faces of said units whereby the said member may be assembled during the erection of the silo instead of being initially raised to its full height.

2. A silo, including an upright structural membereomprising a plurality of units disposed in two series in mutually overlapping relation and having a strip interposed between them and extending across the overlapping portions of said series.

3. A silo, including an upright structural member comprising a plurality of units disposed in two series in mutually overlapping relation, the intermediate units of each series being each secured to a plurality of units of the other series.

1. A silo, including a fabricated upright structural member comprising two series of mutually overlapping units, a strip interposed between the units of said series and extending unbroken past a plurality of units of each series, and means for securing together in assembled relation the units of said series and the interposed strip.

5. A silo, including a fabricated upright comprising a plurality of units disposed in two series, the ends of said units in each series being mutually overlapped with the ends of units in the other series, an interposed strip between said series of units having a marginal portion extended outwardly beyond the faces of the units, whereby an abutting shoulder is formed, and means for securing said units and interposed strip together.

6. A structural upright for building, said upright comprising a plurality of similar units disposed in two series, the units of one series being symmetrically overlapped with respect to the units of the other series, and securing bolts fastening each intermediate unit to two units of the'other series.

A silo including a plurality of fabricated uprights. each composed of similar units disposed in two series in mutually overlapping relation, each of said units series and to the abutting strip, together being formed to provide an outer face Wider with inner sheathing boards Secured t0 the than its inner face, an abutting strip intersmaller faces 01'' said units and abutting posed between the series of units and breaksaid strip, and outer sheathing boards se- 5 ing joints with the units of each series, a cured to the outer faces of said units.

plurality of securing bolts holding each intermediate unit to two units of the other FRANZ A. BLOCKI. 

